Japan’s Coldrain had the prestige of being the very first band officially announced for next year’s Soundwave Festival. Does their music justify this type of hype?
For starters, you have to be good at what you do to play Soundwave. And whether you like this style of music or not, these guys are very good at what they do. In fact, they suit the Soundwave demographic almost to perfection. The melodic metalcore sound is arguably the biggest thing in heavy music right now and these guys have the formula down pat. It’s heavy where it needs to be, and virtually all of the choruses soar to the very heavens in true melodic style.
If you didn’t know these guys are Japanese, you would think they’re American – their sound, the production polish, the singer even uses an American accent. It’s all geared up to appeal to American metalcore audiences. Yes, it’s production-line stuff, but it’s good production-line stuff.
The ‘true’ metalheads will bitch and moan about them of course, but these guys will no doubt play a bunch of kick-arse sets for the Aussie punters next year and head home with a heap of new fans under their belt. And that’s all that really matters.
3.5/5.
